


Too Graphic

by slyyywriting



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Pining, one sided pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slyyywriting/pseuds/slyyywriting
Summary: You’re a writer who frequents the old city library mainly for their free access to graphic novels and comic books. Now you find yourself sucked into one comic with your favorite super soldiers.
Relationships: Bucky Barnes/Reader, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader/Bucky Barnes, stucky/reader - Relationship
Kudos: 63





	Too Graphic

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been wanting to watch Fushigi Yuugi but I’m too lazy so here’s my version of being sucked into things we read. Also, I’m sorry if you get confused ;)

There was nothing to look forward to anymore. You’ve practically spent the last year or so cooped indoors with your laptop as the only source of warmth and light. Now that your book was finished and sent out to your editor, there was nothing left to do. Before you were offered to write your book, you spent years running around New York fantasizing about whatever magic you could find in old coffee shops, torn down buildings, water stained bricks, even odd looking bushes. Finally someone took interest in your writings and gave you a book deal.

Now that you were done working for the meantime, you didn’t notice that while you were bent over writing, the world had continued to turn on its axis and everyone’s lives had progressed without you. You’re now staring at the fourth rejection text from your friends, they had something else going on with their special others while you just wanted to drink at a local pub like old times.

Not wanting to drink alone and be bothered, you took a left down your block and found yourself sprinting up the steps of the old library. Built fifteen years before the newly designated city library, it blended among the buildings in its drained color. You push the large door open and greet the man behind the counter.

“Hey, Stan! Good evening.”

“Hello, dear. Back again soon? I thoughts you was done with your project?” the graying man asked. He was wearing a checkered button up with a yellow bow tie and fire truck red suspenders. His mustache was looking almost all white and was probably older than you.

“I was. Was supposed to celebrate to but everyone had plans already.” You leaned on the counter and pouted at the old man. “So, I’m going to wallow by reading those best mate comics you got me hooked on.”

The both of you chuckle at the same time. Months before when you were stuck about having to write about the boundaries of friendship and the man had seen you in distress, he suggested you read old issues of super hero comics from before the pandemic had wiped out half the people in the planet. At first you were adamant because you weren’t really into reading things with colorful pictures but Stan sold you when he started explaining the things the best friends go through. Now, you were in it too deep that he had to practically remind you every time that the library was closing.

“Oh, goodie. I unearthed a couple more from boxes downstairs. Should be in the shelves already.” He claps his hand together at the reminder before shooing you away to the furthest area of the building.

You bid him goodbye and make way to the graphic novels and comic books area. It was almost isolated, hidden behind stacks after endless stacks of bookshelves and one glass door. The area was designed for kids to read and enjoy in so the floor had soft carpets and the chairs were replaced with chaises and sofas. But since not a lot of kids visit the old library anymore, you had the place to yourself most of the time.

You place your things on the small table next to a green velvet sofa near the wall and move to scan for the new found issues old Stan was talking about. You find dusty boxes that were half opened and flip the lid fully off. A smile creeps on your face as you see the contents, issues and issues of your favorite crime fighting beef cakes, Captain America and the Winter Soldier. You take a couple and place them one by one on the table, giddy with joy at the prospect of reading them all.

Three hours later, Stan knocks on the door to tell you that he was closing up but finds you asleep with an open comic lying face down on your chest. He shakes you lightly, smirking at your open mouthed sleeping.

“Kid, ‘m closing up in five minutes. Come back tomorrow, yeah?” he tells you when you jolt awake, wiping a line of spit that escaped your mouth.

“Mmkay, Mr. Lee. You got it.” You nod and smile sheepishly.

He pats your shoulder and turns to leave. You stretch your arms above your head and groan a little bit as your back starts to make clicking noises. Your eye sight was a little blurry as you clean up after yourself while still half asleep. You pick up the copies and pile them into a shelf, thinking how you’d have to arrange the ones still in the box just to help out. When you were done, you gather your things and start to head out the door when a sound of a falling comic stops you on your tracks.

You look back at the shelf and mutter at the thought that the copy might get ruined if you don’t pick it up now. So you make a u-turn and look for the fallen book. You find it open faced on the floor and pick it off. The cover intrigues you as it depicts both Captain America and Winter Soldier running away from a big Red Skull in the background looking menacingly. Suddenly, the paper in your hands start to feel heavy and the temperature in the room seems to have dropped.

You hear a faint whisper of your name from behind making you jump and turn around swiftly only to be greeted by a discolored wall plastered with posters about how reading puts ‘FUN’ in fundamental. You shake your head and look down at the issue in your hands, flipping it open to scan the contents when someone taps on your shoulder. You yelp and turn around again but no one was around. Starting to feel a bit creeped out, you take a step to return the fallen comic book on the shelf but as soon as you do the room shakes and you get rattled by the strength of it. You grab hold on the shelf as books start to fall down from them. You eye the nearest table, planning to duck under it however, you’re suddenly lifted off from the ground by a faint green mist.

Now you really start to panic when you see your feet floating in the air. You struggle and try to kick, fighting whatever force has gotten a hold of you. Paper was flying everywhere and your hair gets swooped back and forth, the green mist enveloping almost every part of your body now. Behind you, the issue you had put back on the shelf opens and emits golden sparks from its pages that eventually turns into a bigger circle, crackling as it does. In the next second, your body gets sucked into the comic book. As soon as you disappear into the page, the pages close shut and lands with a soft thud on the floor. The library returns to its quiet.

You feel yourself get dragged out into the air and free fall from the sky. The sparkly circle that mysteriously appeared had spit you out and dropped you into the dirt, your back hitting it with a thud. With a loud _oomf_ you arch your back and rub your butt as you slowly lie sideways to ease the pain, totally unaware of the chaos that was currently surrounding you.

A low snarl appears from behind you but you’re too disoriented from being dropped out of the sky to notice. A creature that looked like a dog from the Upside Down slowly approaches you with its back arched and ready to pounce. When you finally hear the snarling, you scramble to move away from it but your legs were too terrified to push you out as you see the ugly monster dog salivating as it eyes you. You let out a scream just as the dog jumps to possibly eat you. You shut your eyes as your lungs work themselves to its maximum capacity, waiting for your imminent death. But as you continue to wail like an off-key baboon, the pain and gore never came. Peeking one eye open, you see the dog-like creature on the ground unmoving and behind it a tall, bulky man in a blue vest carrying an assault rifle comes towards you.

“You okay?” he asks as he offers a gloved hand to you, you shakily reach for it and he pulls you to your feet. “Stop playing around, there’s more of them over there.”

He nods towards a direction and you shift a foot to turn and see. You’re eyes widen as you finally grasp your surroundings; an open field bordered by a forest that seemed to be burning and hundreds of the ugly dogs you just saw running around snarling. You jog after him, not wanting to be alone when another one of the creatures decide to come after you.

“Hey! You! What’s—where—what the fuck is happening?” you yell after the man as you catch up. He looks back at you slightly with a smirk and you notice for the first time more details about him. He had his long brown hair up in a half bun and that his left arm was actually glistening metal in onyx with gold highlights.

“Did you bump your head or something?” he answers you, voice gruff from the action he’d just been going through. When he spots your doe-eyed expression, he humors your question. “Okay, fine. Steve said we should try and contain the space dogs back to the underground bunker where they’re being kept. But it’s not exactly easy to herd aliens, is it?”

Just as he says his last statement, one of the _space dogs_ he’d mentioned jumps from his left to attack him but he was quick with his rifle and shoots it down. When the creature’s body lands on the dirt, you sprint faster after the man and grab the hem of his vest. He chuckles at your action and grabs your hand with his metal one before increasing the speed of his running. You were about to ask him who Steve was when five dogs stop the both of you from moving forward, attacking from various directions. The man let’s your hand go and proceeds to shoot the creatures but he gets tackled down and his rifle flies out of hand.

You on the other hand start to back up but slowly get circled by the aliens. You had both your hands up and out in front of you when one attacks you. With a guttural scream, you close your eyes and wait to be bitten but you manage to stop the creature from doing so as you hold its mouth open with your own strength. Confused, amazed but righteously scared, you pull the creature’s mouth wider until its jaw snaps into two. You make a triumphant noise and stare at your now covered in bluish slime hands in amazement.

“A little help here, please?” the man calls out to you as he tries to fight off three at a time.

You run towards him but hesitate as you don’t know what to do. With a big gulp, you grab one by the tail and pull it off of the man. Once again, you’re astounded by your strength and test it further by trying to toss away the creature—which you do successfully. When all creatures have been removed, you help the man up and resume to running towards the direction the both of you originally intended.

Upon reaching your destination, you’re greeted by what seemed to be a metal building embedded into the ground and a steady stream of the alien dogs being fought off and pushed back inside.

“What took you so long, Buck? ‘m dying over here.” Another voice snaps your eyes from the building. It belonged to a tall man in a dark navy combat suit and a faint star in the center of his torso. He was blonde and had a rough full beard.

“Y/N here seemed to have bumped her head and forgot the mission.” The man you were with, ‘Buck’? Answers with a chuckle before patting your butt and running to help the other man.

The blonde raises an eyebrow towards you as you continue to stare at everything. He shakes his head with a small smile and returns to his task. As the aliens get herded easier with the brunette’s help, the blonde man pushes button on his forearm and the metal building whirs to life. A gust of air and dust is released from the ground and a hatch starts to close, sealing off the creatures inside.

The two men exchange a short hug, laughing at something you didn’t hear. You finally shake out of your confusion when they usher you back to the opposite direction, each have a hand placed on your lower back. You walk with them willingly until you found your mental footing and stop in your tracks.

“Wait!” both men stop and look at you, each sporting a smile.

“Who are you guys!? And how do you know my name?! And what the hell just happened?!” you inquire loudly in succession, effectively wiping the smiles off of the men’s faces only to be replaced by a frown. They exchange looks of worry before looking back at you as you wrap your arms around yourself.

The brown haired man scoffed before smirking at you, pushing your shoulder as he does. He must think your dragging out the whole head bump thing but when he sees the scared expression on your face, his own expression falls looking at the blonde for confirmation that they were seeing the same thing and that they were both on the same page.

The latter man, Steve as he was called, tells you that you should just come with them and they’ll explain everything on the way home. Hesitantly, you meekly nod looking at your boots but definitely feeling two pairs of eyes boring into you.

“This is so weird—I’m Steve. Steve Rogers. Your— We’re—“ the blonde man finally has a name.

“Bucky. Bucky Barnes. Damn right, this is weird.” The brunette who interjects also has a name now. Side eyeing Steve and effectively cutting him off.

“Your name is Y/N Y/L/N and you’ve known us forever.” Steve explains while the three of you were in some kind of high-tech jet. You were seating in front of a holographic table that was currently projecting your profile.

So far, almost every bit of information about you was correct. Your name, your nearest of kin, your birthday and even your parent’s address. However, it also showed that you were an agent for an organization called SHIELD in the 70s and volunteered to be experimented on with some super soldier serum to fight in the Vietnam War. Which meant the ‘you’ that they knew was older than who you were actually right now.

“I—I know who _I_ am. But I’m definitely not an agent. I’m a _writer_! And I just got signed for a three-book deal! I’m not—“ you start to explain, exasperated about the ridiculous things in front of you. You couldn’t even finish what you were trying to say and end up just groaning in frustration.

“I don’t think I’m who you think I am.” You continue with your head in your palms. “I think if I could just have access to my things, I can show you some of my IDs or something and we’ll just call this an accident.”

The other soldier, Buck you think, was gnawing on his lower lip, arms crossed over his chest. He looks back and forth between you and the other man.

“I get it, I’m—I’m sorry.” Buck was the first to speak. Turning off the hologram before tugging on his companion’s elbow and nodding towards the front of the jet. “Why don’t you go lie down a bit over there and me and him will figure this out.”

“What—Bucky?” Steve protests but says no more when he sees you with a dejected expression. He gives you a tight smile and nods towards a make shift cot near a wall.

Once they see you settle down, they begin to whisper-yell at one another.

“What the hell happened to her?” the blonde inquires, almost seething.

“What’s with the tone? How should I know?” the brunette scoffs, hating the accusation.

“Well you’re the one who was supposed to look out for her! You said so yourself ‘ _I got her, Steve. She’ll be fine with me_.’” Steve says mockingly, waving his hands robotically.

“A space dog knocked her ass off, it wasn’t _that_ bad. She was fine!”

“Does that look _fine_ to you?!”

Steve grabs Bucky’s chin and turns it to look at your figure huddled up on the cot. Your hair was a mess and so was your uniform. But both men knew that your brain was worse than how you currently looked if you weren’t able to remember either of them.

“Maybe she just has a concussion?” Bucky raises a brow and both men scramble to get near you again, feeling like idiots when they didn’t even think of checking you for injuries.

“Doll? Did you hit your head earlier?” Steve was the first one to kneel beside you, voice soft with concern while Bucky hovered above his head chewing on his flesh thumb.

When you shake your head and answer ‘no’, both soldiers return to their previous position in front of the jet.

“She doesn’t remember who we are! Or what we are! Or what she does!”

“How is it my fault?!”

After a few more minutes of arguing and shoving each other in small bursts of anger, they both finally agreed to withhold killing each other until someone with medical expertise checks up on you.

“Well… she does not seem to have any concussion or any abnormal brain behavior. She’s perfectly fine and stable. Nothing here explains why she would be experiencing memory loss.” A man wearing a purple button up, who you assumed to be a doctor, tells the three of you while you’re seated on top of a metal table with a thermometer in your mouth. “Also does not explain how she thinks that she’s a writer from an alternate reality.”

He points to the monitor that had graphs in it, none of which you remotely understood. Nothing is registering as you bounce your eyes from one of the tall men in front of you to another. Both of them were scowling and standing with matching arms crossed over their chests. There was something so familiar about them that you could not quite figure out. Maybe you’ve seen them on the streets of New York before, of a local pub during one of your trivia nights or even a crossfit class you used to attend religiously.

“Maybe HYDRA got to her? Injected her with something that made her—“ the purple shirt wearing man points to you with his glasses while you were in the middle of squinting, mouth open trying to decipher who these men were, looking like a spaced out idiot, “— _forget.”_

“How could that be possible, Banner? She was out of my sight for all ten seconds and we were the only ones in the field.” Bucky reasons out, a little annoyed that the H word was even mentioned.

“And she wasn’t bitten by any of the Outriders, either.” Steve adds.

The three of them were now looking at you, all doe-eyed and innocent, not knowing what the hell was going on still, feet swaying and dangling from the table. You were tilting your head sideways as you take in Steve and Bucky, almost figuring out who they were when a voice overhead finally laid it down to you.

_“Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, and Agent Y/L/N you are all requested to the main conference room for a post mission debrief.”_

You gasp when you hear the titles and a surge of visions flow through you. Visions that looked like memories playing fast forward right before your eyes appear. First they were shared moments between you and Steve; training together, fighting together, some laughter and tears in between and even intimate touches that lead to more intimate moments. Then it was memories of being on the run from the government; hotel rooms that smelled like mold and dust, getting beat up by a SWAT team and being imprisoned in the middle of the ocean. Next there were shared moments with Bucky, almost the same with Steve but this time it seemed colder, freezing even. Except for the times when Bucky held you in his arms, sharing more than body heat, soft whispers and softer kisses.

Then everything goes dark. Only the sound of water droplets that echo in an empty hallways underground remains now. A rattle of a chain and the crackle of electricity resounds eerily through your ears and bile quickly rises to your throat. A hand on your shoulder appears despite the darkness and it anchors you to a voice from somewhere above your head. You close your eyes, squeezing them hard and focus on the lulling sound. The next time you open them you find yourself kneeling on a pristine floor in the lab from before.

“Doll?” two voices ask you at the same time and you retch on the sparkling tiles.

The projectile of bile draws a map from your own memories to the reality of now and you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. You look up to Steve, then to Bucky.

“You’re—you’re Captain America. Steve Rogers. _My Stevie…_ ” your hand shakes, confused as to how you knew. “And—and you’re the Winter Soldier. James Barnes. _My Bucky…_ ”

Both men’s eyes open wider, a sparkle returns in them as their previous worries dissipate along with your words. But it’s short lived.

“I read about you guys in a comic book. You guys aren’t real and this is clearly a dream.”

Three days.

Three days since you called Steve and Bucky comic book characters. That meant three days of giving you space because apparently you weren’t comfortable at how close and intimate you actually were with the both of them. Which meant three days since you’ve moved out of your shared quarters with the two men. Which meant three days since either of them were able to hold your hand, hold you in their arms and share their bed. Which meant three days since Bucky or Steve had kissed you. And now Bucky was visibly pouting at you while you sat a few feet away from him, reading Steve’s journal in the hopes that it will be proof enough about your relationship. Bucky had a journal too, but Steve insisted you weren’t ready for the things that the brunette had written in there because according to his best pal, his entries were **_too graphic._**

For the past three days, you were given the benefit of the doubt that you were from an alternate reality where you were in fact a writer and Doctor Bruce Banner mentioned about a wizard of some sort that might just have the answers. But the wizard was apparently unavailable so the closest solution that your new super soldier pals had thought of was to job your memory a bit and remind you who they were and the roles they played in your life.

However, the former assassin turned rehabilitated neo-Avenger who was noisily sipping on his morning coffee was getting antsy. He had been frozen for seventy years and that was enough immobility and inaction for a lifetime. It was time to jump back into your arms.

“Sweetheart?” he calls you from where he sits, trying his best to be nonchalant.

You lift your head from the pages you were reading and turn around to look back at Bucky.

“Want to go grab lunch outside the compound? It might be better to see familiar things instead of just reading about them?” he asks carefully, rubbing both his palms on his knees, eyes darting about everywhere and not looking at you directly.

You feel nervous at his offer. You’ve been reading Steve’s journals from two years ago, the entries describing the beginning of your dynamic relationship as a three-person couple. When they ushered you back to your shared room the first night you arrived you were dumbstruck after Steve revealed that the three of you were together. You weren’t even dating one person back in the real world and now this tall glass of patriotism, righteousness and juicy buttocks is telling you that you were in an intimate relationship with not only him but with mister tall, dark haired and brooding tree trunk too. But despite the initial fear of the reveal, you felt a familiar comfort with them as they stuttered and fumbled around you in an effort to make you more comfortable as you got reacquainted with them.

Fast forward to now, both men giving you enough space to navigate your new identity by yourself. Although both of them were having a hard time, Steve was coping by making himself busier than usual, opting to spend time away from you during the day as much as possible feeling like if he accidentally hugs you from behind one more time and you responding by staying stiff, would actually make him burst into tears. Bucky was coping by actively trying his best to trigger your memories by walking you back to your temporary room before bed, appearing sweaty and half naked at your door first thing in the morning and even trying to start an argument about pineapple on pizza. He feels that if he does not do anything, he’ll join Steve in crying.

“Sure. I’ll go get changed. Will you wait for me?” you stand from your chair and tuck the journal under your arms, belatedly realizing how fast you agreed to his offer. As if it was reflex.

“G—great! Yeah, sure, yeah of course. I’ll wait. For you.” Bucky stutters in surprise, not really expecting that you’ll say yes. He gulps big time as you skip back to your new room. As soon as your door was shut, Bucky pumps his metal fist a couple of times in the air, feeling like a champion at the small victory. This was a very big deal considering.

Lunch outside the compound apparently meant going to a nearby diner in suburban upstate New York. Bucky parks the car in front of a quaint diner, the visual of it entirely new to you but it somehow made you feel homey. He ushers you inside with a hand on the small of your back and a tight smile on his lips. You settle in a booth and he automatically slides next to you instead of the seat across the table. Bucky had almost forgotten that you were in a getting to know each other again stage until you look up at him, holding your breath.

“Bucky?” you clear your throat at him.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” he answers passively as a waitress hands him a menu with a smile.

“Umm…” you look from his eyes to the space between you, almost no gap between your hip and his, his arm on top of the backrest behind you.

He finally realizes the position he’s in when he sees your mouth pressed in a line.

“I—I’m so sorry! It’s just that—we, we always. Yeah, okay.” He fumbles before transferring to the seat across you.

“It’s okay. ‘s not your fault.” You respond kindly and try to dissipate the awkwardness by scanning the menu intently.

After your orders were taken, you felt bad about the heavy atmosphere between the two of you. You could tell how much this whole endeavor was weighing on the blue-eyed Adonis before you. His lips twitch from time to time like he’s trying to speak but holds back at the last instant. You take pity on him.

“I’m sorry.” You whisper, looking outside the window.

“For what?” Bucky quirks up when he hears you, although an apology from you wasn’t what he was expecting.

“For looking like the person you love but not being her at the same time. I can’t imagine how hard it must be.” Your voice is low, sullen. He looks at you purposely and notices how much you’re trying to avoid looking at him.

Bucky feels guilty. You were right. You did look like the person he loves and by projecting his own feelings towards you, he was causing you to carry a burden you don’t even know you had. Slowly, he lets his hand travel across the table and lands it on top of yours.

“Hey, look at me.” He calls to you, rubbing a thumb on top of your wrist. “You don’t need to apologize for things you have no control over. Believe me, I know the feeling. It’s not your fault.”

It was meant to comfort you but the way he said it so sincerely only made the guilt heavier. You pull back your hand from under his and the rest of lunch was spent in relative silence.

You spent the rest of the day away from Bucky after the both of you came back to the compound. When it was late and you thought everyone else had gone to sleep you sneak down to the gym to burn off your nervousness. You still don’t get how it happened but apparently in this comic alternate universe you had super strength and other super abilities, at par with both Steve and Bucky, courtesy of an injected serum almost the same as theirs. You’re tip toeing your way into the gym but freeze by the doors after seeing Steve beat the shit out of a punching bag. You observe him for a few moments, admiring his form while throwing punches at the heavy object and the way his but kind of jiggles whenever he does. You shake your head, feeling guilty for gawking and turn around to leave when Steve speaks.

“I’m sure the gym is big enough for both of us to use at the same time.” He says, back still turned from you and you almost thought he was talking to someone else. But then he turns around in all his sweat and glory, unwrapping his hands and panting slightly. “Don’t you think?”

“Uhh, yes?” you gulp when you see him fully as you step inside the facilities. His hair was flopping messily from his head, neck glistening and a trail of sweat marks the front of his workout shirt.

Steve nods before turning around again for his water bottle. You meekly make your way towards the treadmills, trying your best to ignore the man who puts _men_ in _specimen_. You run for almost an hour while definitely not seeing Steve’s biceps curl in a delicious bulge as he goes through various lifting machines around the gym. You were starting to think he was only using the machines that were in your direct line of sight, seemingly enjoying your failure at subtly ogling him. Your suspicions were confirmed when you see him smirk after you slightly slipped when he lifted three hundred pounds in each arm and his groans echoed all around the empty place.

Not being able to take anymore, you decide to call it a night by taking a really cold shower. But as always, this whole experience was nothing short to confusing.

“Wanna spar for a bit?” Steve calls to you before you reach the door.

“With you?” he raises an eyebrow and gestures around the deserted gym. “Uhh, no?”

“C’mon. it’s not like we haven’t done it before.” He smirks and you almost think that that was a double entendre.

“But you’re so…” you wave around at his physique. “And I’m so…”

You gesture at yourself vaguely but Steve only shrugs, still smirking. He was now walking towards the ring, ducking below the rope and stands in the middle of it with both hands on his hips. You sigh heavily, confused as to why your body was following him. Next thing you know, you were standing in the middle of the ring too.

“Please take it easy on me. I’ve only been here a couple of days and I know nothing.” You bargain with a pout and Steve responds with a hearty laugh.

“And you say you don’t remember anything when you’re pouting at me like you always do when you want something.” He shakes his head, a full smile now on his face.

Steve is the first to attack when he pushes your shoulder, making you stumble two steps back. His smile was playful but the amount of force on that shove definitely was not. Then you remember from his journal entries how much he liked that he could be himself around you. He was fully Steve whenever he was with you and Bucky, no boundaries, no holds barred. That translated not only how he opened up to you emotionally but also how he handled you physically. He describes in the journal how you were able to take any hits he threw your way which made _ahem_ nocturnal activities more comfortable, fun and ultimately satisfying. You swallow a lump in your throat loudly. Oh, boy.With a smirk, Steve throws a jab at you and you’re surprised you don’t get hit. Apparently you got the physical prowess of your comic book version making you light on your feet. With the newly rising confidence you square up and guard your face with both fists, taking a fighting stance by shifting your weight to your hind leg. Seeing you ready, Steve gets more aggressive with his attacks, throwing combos at you. Something clicked in your head like muscle memory and next thing you know you’re throwing Steve over your shoulder then pinning him down with an ankle lock. Somehow you knew that he was vulnerable to floor attacks and you grin in victory already.

Straining to keep him down, he grunts and yelps a surrender, tapping your thigh to release him. You let him go and lie down on the matted floor panting but cathartically happy. You lay there for minutes with your mouth slightly parted, trying to get your heart rate down when you feel Steve shift beside you. Next you feel something soft, wet and warm on your lips causing your eyes to shoot open. You gasp but it only gets swallowed as Steve’s mouth lands on yours. The sound of kissing reverberates in the emptiness of the huge room.

“I’ve missed you.” Steve whispers when he finally detaches his lips from yours. He rubs a thumb softly over your lips, staring at you with a heaviness that could only be described as pure longing.

A tidal wave of emotions flashes through his cerulean eyes, the restraint from the past days finally gushing from the emotional damn he had been building.

The sincerity scares you. “Steve—I’m not her. You can’t.” you pull back from him and sit up. There is a ringing in your ears as you try to process why your body was reacting the way it was. Your heart rate had sped up, more than when you were exerting physical effort from minutes ago and you felt hot. Way too hot that you felt like stripping bare from all the constraints you had on. Thinking that staying here was too much, you quickly get yourself up and your things before rushing out. You avoid looking back at Steve. “I’m sorry!”

\---

You felt confused. You were a stranger in this land, this reality was not your own. You knew these people as characters of a comic book you read during your downtime when you thought the world was too shitty and the people around you weren’t doing it for you anymore. You chug the remaining wine in your bottle, upset that it was not having any effects on you—stupid super soldier serum; stupid enhanced alternate universe body.

You realized now as you sat on a soft lounge chair you dragged out into your room’s balcony that the things you’ve been feeling for the past days were an accumulation of all the emotions you’d pushed aside for years and now they were all bubbling up and out at the same time. There was a gap in your life, a space that could not be filled with any excitement. And yet here you were, excited at the prospect of being in the middle of a super hero sandwich. There was a thrill that came with every ounce of attention you received from either man, something you did not have back in your own world. It had been a while since you were given affection, too focused on your own career to sideline as someone’s lover. You tsk at your own thought, sighing at the lie. It wasn’t your career, you were just scared of having to share your space with a stranger, fear of judgment, fear that when someone would see past the jokes, the insatiable need for alcohol and loud crowds and into who you truly were, they’d decide that you were either enough or too much and leave. The fear from outside the comic book had followed you here and it took the form and shape of two two-hundred-pound Brooklyn boys with great backsides.

And now here you were, looking over the compound as the sun sets beyond the trees and the horizon, unaware of your predicament and continues to exude the most beautiful tints in the vast sky. You had met earlier the wizard Banner had suggested you see. Dr. Strange, the wizard was named strangely yet fitting, had known upon first glance that you were not from around here. He saw a version of you outside their own reality, a different New York from here. The both of you spent the whole day trying to figure out how to send you home but the conclusion was disappointing.

“Whatever power that sent you here wants you here.” Strange tells you while he scans an old book made with gold covers and golden pages conjured out of thin air. “And it made sure that you stay here until you figure out why. I can’t send you home because it did not leave any means to return you back without completing what it wants from you.”

Your forehead creates creases at his words. “But I don’t know why I’m here. And I have no idea what it wants! There was no warning or a quest map!” you’re probably whining but you can’t help it. It’s been two weeks now since you’ve been stuck. “How am I supposed to _figure out_ what it wants with me?”

The sorcerer hums. “You already know the answer to that question.” He shifts from reading the book into looking at you directly with a smirk. “You just have to surrender yourself, only then will everything be alright again.”

What’s that suppose to mean? You were about to ask him but he holds up a hand before staring off at a distance. Next thing you know, he swirls his hand in the air that creates a portal. He steps into it and looks back at you with a wink before disappearing completely. You scoff, he was not any help at all. He just made you more confused.

Your attention shifts from the horizon to the two figures walking across the lawn. Steve and Bucky had just come back from buying groceries, each carrying copious amounts of paper bags in their arms.

Bucky was the first one to spot you on the balcony. “Hey, doll! Wanna help us make dinner? Steve burns boiled water and I wanna eat something that doesn’t taste like dirt for once.” He calls out to you as they cross the grass towards the side door leading to the kitchen.

“Sure! I’ll be right down.” Surprisingly, you wave back at them. Might as well go with the flow if you weren’t getting home any time soon. You have to surrender and everything will be alright.

You don’t see it from your vantage but both men turned giddy like middle school boys after you agreed. Bucky nudges Steve’s shoulder after seeing his eyes light up and they walk into the kitchen with a new bounce on their step.

Making dinner was fun. The three of you occupied the kitchen moving in harmony like a choreographed dance as you settled into your individual tasks. Steve was preparing the ingredients chopping the vegetables into edible pieces; Bucky was marinating the steak while the grill was heating up; you were busying yourself with the potato salad while waiting for Steve to finish his task, taking into heart Bucky’s warning not to let the blonde near the stove. Music was blasting in the kitchen creating a comfortable environment for everyone to mold into. Soon the table was set for three and all of you huddled together to dig in.

You were eating peacefully when you catch Steve smirking at you.

“What?” you mutter, mouth semi-full with food.

Steve shakes his head, eyes still twinkling with delight. “You’re definitely not our Y/N.” he says before throwing a glance Bucky’s way who was enjoying his steak but smirking as well as he looks at you. You find yourself mimicking their expression as if you were in on the inside joke between them too.

You ask them both what gave it away and the answer makes you feel exposed but in a way where one feels known. The kind of visibility only someone who pays attention can give.

“Well, for one, you’re dipping your asparagus in barbecue sauce.” Steve points his fork at your plate just as an asparagus lands in your mouth. “The Y/N we know hates asparagus with gusto.”

“And two, you’re eating with your feet up on the chair instead of crossed around the ankles on the floor.” Bucky supplements, nodding towards your left knee propped up from your seat. “Strict etiquette training since you were a teenager stuck on, you wouldn’t be caught dead doing that ever. The old Y/N, I mean.”

Slowly, you straighten your back and move for the sitting position previously mentioned but you stop halfway after the next comment you hear.

“It’s cute. Means you’re finally comfortable with us.” Bucky chuckles and gives you a panty dropping smile. “Don’t worry about it. We’re just thinking out loud.” Followed by Steve who scrunches his nose before brushing a hand on your head fondly. You smile shyly at the affection and try to continue eating despite the funny feeling in your stomach. Suddenly, you weren’t as hungry for food anymore.

Later that night as the lights around the facility turn off and a peaceful quiet has replaced the activities around, two hundred-year-old best friends lie awake in their shared bed as they hold each other.

“I miss her here. The sheets don’t smell like her anymore.” Steve mumbles into Bucky’s chest as he stares off into the distance. As much as he likes how the man he’s holding smells, your scent had always brought him warmth and comfort like a good summer’s day.

“Tell me ‘bout it. I started using her shampoo about a week ago hoping that would help but it only made me crave her presence more.” Bucky mumbles into Steve’s hair, feeling pathetic about his efforts.

The two men collectively sigh at the loss of you. They know they might be overreacting about the whole thing, well aware that you were only a couple doors down from them but the relationship that you had built together was centered on your ability to make them feel whole just by merely being with them. And now they were missing a piece of a perfectly simple puzzle and the effect was to large to ignore. Before either man could sulk any further, a knock on the door interrupts them.

You peek your head shyly when the door opens causing both of them to sit up in attention.

“Hey! I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” you meekly ask them, trying to shift your focus from their naked torsos to anywhere else in the room, lest you wanted to spontaneously combust at the personification of sex that was sitting on a very warm and inviting bed.

“Not at all! What’s wrong?” Steve was already on his feet the moment you stepped inside the room.

You shake your head and giggle a bit at his tone. He sounded like he was ready to fight whatever problem you were going to present him and your chest flutters at the idea that someone was willing to do that before you even asked.

“Nothing’s wrong. Just, I couldn’t sleep and I wanted to watch a movie but I didn’t want to do it downstairs but then I remembered you guys had a TV here so I thought…” rambling seemed like the most appropriate way to deliver your message.

“I’ll make some popcorn!” Bucky volunteers without being prompted and a smile erupts across your face.

Steve extends a hand toward you and you take it, letting him lead you to the couch in front of their flatscreen. Not even thirty minutes into the movie, you’d fallen asleep with your head on Bucky’s shoulder. He moves his arm and tucks you under it, smiling as you press yourself further into his side. Steve turns off the television and lies his head on your lap, sighing contentedly as you’re back into their room again even if it’s only under this circumstance. Three steady and even breaths occupy the quarters until morning.

A month into being stranded inside a comic book you had completely given up on getting home. You were happy here already, you had minimal responsibilities, except when the world needed help from super soldiers. But the real cherry on top of your entire predicament was the two men currently chasing after you.

The three of you accidentally fell into a game of tag when you and Bucky sneaked up on Steve to hold him down and tickle him while he was meditating outside. In your defense you were very bored an needed attention but you’re now regretting it as you run full speed away from them after they decided to gang up against you.

You were laughing your ass off when you trip on your own feet and take a tumble on the grass. Your chasers immediately go into over protective mode when you did not get up five seconds later. You were rolling on your back when two very concerned faces appeared above you. You giggle at the worried expressions on your face.

“Are you hurt?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes! Calm down papa bears and lie down with me. The sky looks nice.” You dismiss them and grab them down to your level. The three of you lie down side by side with you in the middle. You grab each of their hand and pull it to your lips giving them each a kiss.

Steve is the first one to shift and lie on his side to look at you. “But I want more than a knuckle kiss.” He pouts and you laugh at the way his bottom lip protrudes.

You roll your eyes and sigh. “Fine! Come here then.” He snickers before placing a kiss on your lips. Something you were starting to get used to after surrendering to your feelings for both of them. Steve’s hand is cupping your face while he deepens the kiss and you couldn’t help but moan a little bit at the warmth that’s filling your chest.

Another hand snakes over your belly and you can’t help but grin against Steve’s lips. You break away from the kiss and turn your head to the other man beside you, eyes as bright as the clear skies above.

“Me too, please.” The pout Bucky gives you is lethal. He was so cute when he wanted to be, despite the gruff exterior that he had on most of the time. You shift and give him a kiss as well but you break it off too soon when he completely pries you off of Steve’s hands. He wraps his arms and legs around you and rolls you away from the blonde.

“Hey!” Steve whines as the both of you get farther. You and Bucky quickly get on your feet and run away from him, sticking your tongue out as you do. Steve chases after you, laughter echoing in the field in tune with your steps on the warm ground.

Just as Steve was catching on, he holds Bucky around the waist and hoists him away from you. You look at both of them in awe, thinking how in the short time that you’ve spent with them each and every wall you built had tumbled down. Now there was enough space in your life not just for a one of a kind love but for a love that was kind and would last more than one lifetime. The fear in your heart was replaced by acceptance and for the first time in your life you knew that this was where you truly belonged.

However, the powers that brought you here decided that when you finally got what you sought it was time to go home. Bucky and Steve notices the crackling portal that suddenly opened behind and the smiles on their face get wiped as it swallows before disappearing completely into thin air. You’re name echoes in their lips but you could not hear it anymore.

You scream out as a hand shakes you lightly on your shoulder. You’re gasping for air as your vision comes back into focus.

“Kid, ‘m closing up in five minutes. Come back tomorrow, yeah?” Stan, the old man from the library tells you when you jolt up and awake.

You frantically look around at your surroundings. You were back at the old library. No Steve and no Bucky in sight. It had all been a long, tortuous dream. You feel a pang in your chest as you get up from the sofa that you were just lying on and feel a tear slip down on your cheek.

“Kid? You good? I said we’re closing in five.” Stan repeats, drawing you out of your own head. You nod back at him wordlessly and he leaves the room.

You pick up the scattered comic books on the floor and place them on the table. You were too shaken up by how real the dream had felt that even when you exit the library into the night, the heaviness rests upon you like a rain cloud.

You decided to stop by a pub instead of going straight home, not wanting to bring home the negative energy that you were carrying. You were trying to order from the bartender but he wasn’t paying attention to you. Typical, you thought but a voice behind you offers to order for you. Too tired to fight him off, you agree.

“Just two shots of tequila and a beer, thanks.”

“Okay, then.” He manages to catch the bartender’s attention and the drinks are given. You pull out money from your wallet but he stops you.

“I got it, Doll.” The voice along with the endearment makes you turn around and really look at the guy.

“Steve?” you gasp when you see his face. It was him no doubt, he had the same hair and beard. It was him despite the flannel shirt he wore.

“Yeah?” he smiles down at you like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Wh- what are you doing here?” you wrap your arms around his waist and burry your face into his shirt. He rubs a hand on your back, chuckling at your show of affection.

“What do you mean? You asked me and Buck for drinks out remember? To celebrate your book deal?” he tells you and you couldn’t help but pull back, tears brimming in your eyes.

“Bucky’s here?” you yell out and Steve points to one Bucky Barnes sitting at a booth playing with his phone with his hair in a man bun. You push through the crowd and basically tackle him when he was within reach. “Bucky!”

“Hey, sweetheart. Congratulations on the book!” he envelopes you in his arms as you deposit yourself in the crook of his neck. You were absolutely crying now and he catches on when he pulls away. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Where’s Steve?”

The rapid fire questioning makes you laugh. It really was your Bucky. You scan the pub to point to Steve when someone else catches your eye. At a corner table sits a familiar mustached man who was raising his glass towards you. Dr. Strange winks at you as a gasp escapes your mouth.

You look back at Bucky who was rubbing your back softly to tell him about the sorcerer but he disappears from the spot when you look again.


End file.
